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Ezel / Tax Rulings / CT
CT Ruling 89-273 Sales and Use Taxes 1989-12-12

Were total landscaping receipts taxable, and could landscapers buy bolts, cables, and lags for resale?

Short answer: Under this historical ruling, total gross receipts for landscaping services were taxable. Landscapers could buy bolts, cables, and lags tax-free for resale by giving suppliers valid resale certificates, but had to separately state those items on customer invoices. DRS marks the ruling not current and obsoleted by AN 2000(8).

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours, under current Connecticut tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official 1989 Connecticut Department of Revenue Services Ruling reflecting the landscaping and resale-certificate rules then in effect. DRS expressly marks it 'not current' and says Announcement (AN) 2000(8) obsoleted it. Its gross-receipts and separately stated property treatment should not be assumed current or applied to different materials or billing. Connecticut imposes sales and use tax solely at the state level: there are no local or municipal sales taxes. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Connecticut tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Note -- obsolete historical guidance. DRS marks this ruling "not current" and states that it was obsoleted by Announcement (AN) 2000(8).

Plain-English summary

DRS ruled that the total gross receipts for landscaping services were subject to sales and use tax.

Landscapers could buy bolts, cables, and lags for resale without paying tax by issuing valid resale certificates to suppliers. To support that treatment, the landscaper had to separately state those items on the invoice for landscaping services.

What this means for you

The historical ruling taxed the service receipts while allowing specific physical items to move through resale treatment when properly documented and separately billed.

Common questions

Were landscaping receipts taxable? Yes, in total under the ruling.

Could the landscaper use a resale certificate? Yes for the listed bolts, cables, and lags.

Was separate invoice disclosure required? Yes.

Citations and references

  • Announcement (AN) 2000(8) -- identified by DRS as obsoleting this ruling.

Source

Original ruling text

Ruling 89-273, Landscaping

This information is not current and is being provided for reference purposes only

Ruling 89-273

Landscaping

This Ruling has been obsoleted by   AN 2000(8)

The total gross receipts for landscaping services are subject to sales and use tax.

Landscapers may purchase bolts, cables, and lags for resale in the regular course of business without payment of the sales and use tax provided they issue valid resale certificates to their suppliers and separately state such items on their invoice for landscaping services.

LEGAL DIVISION

December 12, 1989

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